Internal-combustion engine



W. R. STRICKLAND. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, ms.

Patented June M, 19216,

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

W. R. STRICKLAND.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1918- 1,381,516.

Patented June 14, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. STRICKLAN D, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE PEERLESSMOTOR CAB COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application/filed September 16, 1918. Serial No. 254,271.

To all whom it may concernfl Be it known that I, W1 IAM R. STRIGK- LAND,a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Internal- Combustion Engines, of which the followin is afull, clear, and exact description.

lhis invention relates to internal combustion engines and has for one ofits objects to provide means for preventing oil being carried by therapid circulatlon of air due to the rotating parts, to the cylinders ofthe engine, and for. preventing the cranks and ends of the connectingrods dip ping into the oil when the Vehicle driven by the engine isgoing up or down hill.

A further object is to provide means for preventing oil being blownupwardly along the wall of the crank-case and into the lower ends of thecylinders by the air currents created by the rotating crank-shaft andparts connected thereto.

The above and other more specific objects which will be brought out inthe following description are attained by my invention which includestwo prime features which while admirably adapted for conjoint use andcooperating when so used to accomplish the objects above stated, haveutility though employed independently. One of these parts or featuresconsists of a pan of novel shape and construction positioned between thecrank-shaft and lower part of the crank-case, and the other part residesin a battle placed along the wall against which the air currents aredriven by the air currents sweeping through the lower part of thecrank-case, and arranged to divert and reduce the eflfects of the aircurrents in so far as they tend to drive the oil along said wall up intothe cylinders.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certainnovel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of partswhich will be described in the specification and set forth in theappended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings wherein I have shown the preferredform of'my invention, Figure 1 is a transverse.

sectional View, looking rearwardly, through an engine such as isemployed on motor vehicles and equipped with my invention; Fig. 2 is alongitudinal sectional view through the lower part of the crank-caseshowing the crank-shaft and portions of the connecting rods by dottedlines; Fig. 3 is a view on a reduced scale similar to Fig. 1, showing amodification wherein the bafiie is employed independently of the pan;Fig. t is a view on a reduced scale, similar to Fig. 1, showing amodification in the shape of the pan; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a pandetached, showing a further modification.

The engine here shown, is of the V-type such as an engine of eight,twelve, or more cylinders, though it is to be understoodthat myinvention 1n all its aspects has utility also in an engine havingvertical bore cylinders. The engine here shown has a crankcase composedof an upper part-10 and a lower part 11, and diagonally disposedcylinders 12. The usual crank-shaft 13 is likewise provided, havingcrank portions connectcd to connecting rods 14 Whose outer ends will beconnected to the pistons in the customary manner.

In accordance with my invention, I provide between the crank-shaft andthe parts rotating therewith, and the bottom of the cranlec-ase, a panor receptacle 15, which in this case is separate from the lower half ofthe crank-case, in which event it is preterably formed of sheet metal,though it may be cast integral with the lower half of the crank-case.This pan is closed on all four sides, being open at the top only, and itis secured to the two opposite sides of the crank-case by bolts 16,though it is spaced fromthe sides of the crank-case by spacing members17 surrounding'the bolts, and is preterably spaced also from both ends.The spacing of this pan from the sides of the crank-case is ofimportance as it is desired that the oil be free to flow downward alongthe sidesof the crank-case into the sump, and the spacing from the frontend of the crank-case is of importance as it is desired that the oil befree to flow from the gear housing (not shown) commonly provided at the'front of the crank-case, into the front end ofthe, latter, withoutentering the pan,

Patented June 14, 1921.

to this gear-housing. At thispointit may be mentionedthatoil ma be fedto the and this opening I place near the center the pan on the off sidefrom. the direction of rotation, 6. near the upright wall toward whichthe air is blown -by-the rotation of the crank-shaft and the partsconnected to it in sweeping throu h the lower part of the crank-case.Additionally it should be noted the topof the .pan between the wall ofthe crank caseiandflthe adiacent side ofthe pan as shown in Fig. 1. nthat event, the side of the an forms in eifect a continuation of the bee, but if this bafile is employed without the pan, then it is preferablyextended well down toward the bottom of the crankcase, as illustrated inFig. 3, where the bafile is designated 19.

Regardless of the distance thatthe battle 19 is extended down intothelo'wer half of the crank-case, that is to say, whether it is employedwith or without the pan, its lower that as here shown, the bottom ofthis pan is edge is bent or extended outwardly so as to inclineddownward toward the off side from the direction of rotation. This isnot,how-

ever, an-essential feature, as the bottom might "be substantiallyifiat,but in that event the outlet opening would be located as shown. The mainidea is to form a pocket protected from the full force of the aircurrents, allowing the oil to separate from the air currents and drainintothe sump. The

action-might :be supplemented b channels pressed into the pan andrunning engthwise or diagonally toward the centrally disposeddramppenmg-as shown in Fig.5.

At the rearr'nd of-the pan I provide a transverse bafile 18 whichextends downwardly beneath the pan 'within -a short distance from thebottom'of the cranks, the urpose of this bafiie being to prevent slusing of theoil, and to minimize banking in going up or down hill. A-similar baflie 18 may be but. preferably of the former, is attached tothe-lower portion of the upper half of the crank-case by bolts20, andspacers-21 are provided around the bolts to; space the baflie from thecrank-case wall. This bafile 19 extends wellqup along the upper half ofthe crank-case, andits' upper portion is preferabl bent-or inclinedinwardly, and if it is inc ined inwardly far enough, and is em- .pl'oyedon. an engine of the V-type asherein illustrated, the up, er portion isprovided with notches 22 to orm clearance spaces for theeonnectmg rodsassociated with the cylinders on the side of the engine to which thebafileplate is applied.

Additionally this bafile extends downwardly into the-lower half of thecrank-case a distance which will depend upon-whether or not the pandescribed above, is utilized with it. If'employed with the pan, it isonly necessarythat the lower end of the bafile: extend downwardly ashort distance beneath and virtually because the pan, exce bear againstthe wall of the crank-case, and is provided at intervals with drainopenings 23, so'that the-oil flowing downwardly behind the baiilecanreadily pass to the sump.

-It was previously stated that the bottom of the pan might be flatinstead of inclined. This is shown in Fig. 4, wherein the pan isdesignated 15. If the bottom of the pan is flat, as'hereshown, orsubstantially fiat, I prefer to provide along the bottom of the pan=andnext to the wall toward which the air currents tend to blow the oil, adepression or gutter 15 constituting a pocket, so that the oil can runinto this gutter and be protected from the full force of the air. Atabout the center of the gutter a drain opening 15" is provided.

It was previously stated also, that the bottom of the pan might'beprovided with additionalmeans for protecting the oil from the full forceof the. air, and that this might be accomplished by the provision ofchannels or depressions along which the oil flows to the drain opening.This I have illustrated in'Fig. 5, wherein the gutters or channelsreferred to are designated 15, and are shown connected to the drainopening 15 located as in the other cases. These channels can extendlongitudinally of the bottom of the pan, or diagonally, or it may bedesirable that both arrangements be utilized such as illustrated in Fig.5. These channels could be employed whether or not the bottom of thepan-is inclined as shown in Fig. 1.

The advantages of the construction above described are as follows: Thepan minimizes prevents oil being picked up by-the rotat ng air currents,this being particularly important with high speed motors which cause theair to'be circulated in the crank-caseatextremely high velocities.Additionally by reason of the fact that the outlet opening in the bottomof the pan is located about midway between its ends, and t for thisopening is closed on all sides an at-the bottom, in going up or downhill the oil is virtually preyented, though banked at one end by thetilting of the motor, from entering the pan, so

.that the ends of the connecting rods cannot dip in the oil and throwtheoil up into the cylinders as has been the case with the major portionof the prior engine constructions of which I am aware.

At this point it may be stated that I am aware of the fact that it hasheretofore been proposed to break the effects of the air as far aspicking up oil is concerned, by the provision of horizontal barriersbetween the crank-shaft and the base of the crankcase, but in all suchinstances of which I am aware, these barriers, or by what other namethey may have been styled, were not capable of preventing the oil risingabove them in going up or down hill.

Furthermore, due to the inclination of the bottom ofthe pan or otherprovision for the protection of the oil, and the direction in which theair currents sweep over it, the oil which is thrown from the bearingsinto the pan tends to bank on the off side from the direction ofrotation, but by reason of the location of the. drain opening 15, theoil will drain rapidly from the pan so that very little, if any, can bepicked up by the air and carried to the upper walls of the crank-case orto thecylinders. v

Neither the provision of this pan, nor the provision of the baflie 19can interfere with the fiow ofoil downward along theside walls of thecrank-case, since both the parts referred to are spaced from the wallsof the crank-case. On the other hand, the bafile 1.9 permits thisdownward flow of oil, as well as prevents the oil being blown up alongthe wall into the cylinders. Any 011 that may be carried upwardly by theair currents, along the inner side of the baflie on reaching the topedge flows down the rear side of the baffle into the 'sump.

Having described my invention, I claim: 1. In combination with aninternal combustion engine having a rotating crank-shaft and acrank-case, of a shield in the form of a pan between the crank-shaft andthe bot-' tom of the crank-case, said pan being closed on all four sidesand extending along but spaced from the walls of the crank-case, andsaid pan having at substantially the lowest part thereof one or moredrain openings so that any oil caught in the pan will drain therefrom.

2. In combination with an internal combustion engine having a rotatingcrank-shaft and a crank-case, of a shield in the form of a pan betweenthe crank-shaft and the bottom of the crank-case, the bottom of said panhaving an outlet opening near the center thereof and located near oneside wall at substantially the lowest part of the pan so as not toretain oil.

'3. In combination with an internal combustion engine having a rotatingcrank-shaft and a crank-case, of a shield in the form of a pan betweenthe crank-shaft and the bottom of the crank-case, said pan being closedon all four sides, and having a bottom wall inclined downward on the offside from the direction of rotation from substantially one side of thepan to the other.

4:. In combination with an internal combustion engine havinga rotatingcrank-shaft and a crank-case, of a pan between the crank-shaft and thebottom of the crankcase, said pan being closed on all four sides andhaving a bottom which is inclined downwardly on the off side from thedirection of rotation and is provided with a drain opening near thecenter of the pan, lengthwise considered, and adjacent the lower part ofthe bottom.

5. In an internal combustion engine having a rotating crank-shaft and acrank case, of a shield in the form of a pan between the crank-shaft andthe bottom of the crankcase, and having upstanding side and end wallsspaced from the walls of the crankcase, said pan having one or moreopenings in substantially the lowest part thereof so that any oil caughtin the pan will freely drain therefrom, and a baffle secured to the uper part of the crankcase and extending albn one wall of the crank-casedownwar y below the top of'the pan.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature. 7

WILLIAM R. STRICKLAND."

